Alldales Drives specified for key development

Variable Speed drives from HVAC specialists Alldales Drive Systems have been selected to form part of the smoke control system at New Street Square, a prestigious new Land Securities development.

New Street Square in central London will provide top class accommodation to meet the communications and 24/7 operational needs of financial organisations now relocating into the district.

Alldales worked closely with Consulting Engineer Cundall, in adapting their 'fire mode' feature to provide an emergency smoke ventilation solution for building basement areas, in order to meet building control requirements for the site.

When operating in 'Fire Mode', the drives normal safety features are automatically overridden, to allow the drive to 'run to destruction', whilst still retaining the ability to vary the speed of the smoke extract fans, in response to commands from the Smoke Control Panel.

The mixed-use development, completed in Summer 2008, replaces a cluster of non-descript 60's office buildings with a cutting edge, highly sustainable quartet of contemporary buildings of varying heights.

Totalling 65,500 square metres, the scheme comprises high performance office space and retail facilities including shops, restaurants and cafes.

The development is characterised by the distinctive shape of the prow-shaped 18 storey signature tower.

Alldales were one of the first companies to incorporate a fire mode into the design of their drives.

When activated, the feature automatically overrides normal drive settings to allow the drives to be run to destruction.

At New Street Square, multi-zoned basements called for different approach to allow greater intervention by fire officers in controlling drive speeds in an emergency situation.

Comments Malcolm Howe at Cundall, "Alldales' drives offered the flexibility we required to allow us to develop a bespoke integrated solution for this application, which together with the robust design of the drives, met with the approval of the Building Control Officer".

"Using the feature, fire officers are now able to activate and control settings for the fire mode from the main systems boards, effectively reprogramming the drives to ignore safety settings, while also selecting the appropriate speed for designated zones".

By ensuring basement areas remain smoke free, the new fire safety feature extends the window for safe evacuation and preserves access routes for fire fighters.

Back to top